Cinching and bundling tie

ABSTRACT

A cinching and bundling tie consisting of a planar strap having multiple teeth along both edges that engage when the strap is tied around an object or objects. The tie is self engaging, re-usable, simple in design, effective in its performance, easy to use, quick to apply, and adjustable.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED DOCUMENTS

The present invention is a continuation in part of a U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/704,572, entitled “Cinching and Bundling Strap”filed on Feb. 9, 2007 now abandoned, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference. The parent case filedon Feb. 9, 2007 claimed priority to provisional application Ser. No.60/773,360 filed on Feb. 14, 2006, and incorporates all disclosure ofthat provisional application. The present application therefore claimspriority to both of the applications described above in this paragraph.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments are generally related a unique re-useable, self locking,cinching and bundling tie. Embodiments are also generally related to aplanar tie manufactured using die cutting techniques.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many examples of self locking straps or ties existing in theprior art used for a multitude of purposes, such as bundling of wire,cord, tubing, as well as bag closure and even the hanging of Christmaslights. One such example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,554, issued to Torrey etal., which describes many types of ties or wraps, including those whichutilize Velcro®. In addition to the foregoing, U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,972,issued to Brumlick, discloses a tie with teeth or slots which open andcatch onto the material being bundled. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,914,823 and3,943,607, issued to Hara, describe a strap which interlocks with teeth.U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,129, issued to Hara, discloses a strap with one sidehaving engaging hooks while the other side contains teeth which are tobe engaged with the afore referenced hooks. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,466,159,issued to Burrage, 3,486,200, issued to Orenick, and 5,799,376, issuedto Harsley, each disclose a strap which is inserted through a hole. U.S.Pat. No. 3,780,401, issued to Reimer, describes a strap with extendinghooks which engage the body of the strap.

There exists a need for a cinching and bundling tie that can bemanufactured from a wide variety of materials utilizing die cuttingtechniques with minimal waste. There also exists a need for a cinchingtie that is easily engaged to provide a secure hold and can be cinchedand un-cinched multiple times without loss of effectiveness orstructure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of someof the innovative features unique to the disclosed embodiment and is notintended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the variousaspects of the embodiments disclosed herein can be gained by taking theentire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.

It is one aspect of the present invention to provide a cinching andbundling tie consisting of a strap having multiple teeth along bothedges. The tie is self engaging, re-usable, simple in design, effectivein its performance, easy to use, quick to apply, and adjustable. Otherobjects and advantages of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description when viewed in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, which set forth certain embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally-similar elements throughout the separate viewsand which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification,further illustrate the embodiments and, together with the detaileddescription, serve to explain the embodiments disclosed herein.

FIGS. 1-6, labeled Prior Art, represent illustrations of currentlyavailable ties and fasteners.

FIG. 7 shows a top view of the tie.

FIG. 8 shows a top view of an alternate embodiment of the tie.

FIG. 9 shows multiple ties being cut from a single sheet of material andan enlargement showing the angle of taper of the tooth relative to thestrap of the tie.

FIG. 10 illustrates how the tie functions to cinch and hold items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art that thefollowing descriptions are provided for purposes of illustration and notfor limitation. An artisan understands there are many variations thatlie within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appendedclaims. Unnecessary detail of known functions and operations may beomitted from the current description so as not to obscure the presentinvention.

Patrick Rome, the inventor in connection with the invention describedherein, owns and operates a business which is involved in themanufacture of carrier tape used with surface mount technology (“SMT”).Surface mount technology is a method for constructing electroniccircuits in which the components are mounted directly onto the surfaceof the printed circuit board (“PCB”). Electronic components such asresistors, capacitors, inductors, and semiconductors, utilized inconnection with SMT are referred to as surface mount devices (“SMD”).The preferred method of supplying SMD's today is tape and reel. Tape andreel is a process of loading SMD's into individual pockets contained onwhat is known as pocket or carrier tape. The carrier tape typically hasholes along one edge which align with the handling requirements of thecomponent delivery system. SMD's are added to the blank carrier tape andthe components sealed with a cover tape. The carrier tape, which nowcontains the required SMD's, is wound around a reel for convenienthandling and transport.

Quite unexpectedly, it was discovered that if two pieces of blankcarrier tape were twisted around each other, they formed a tight, selflocking, re-usable cinch. Unfortunately, the material used for thecarrier tape proved to be too weak and the holes along the edges of lessthan ideal for achieving a tight cinch. Through experimentation, theideal type of material as well as the design of teeth were determined.The unique strap ultimately proved to be highly adaptive to any use, aswell as easy to lock and unlock for repeated use without any loss ineffectiveness.

FIGS. 1-6 represent examples of currently generally available ties. FIG.1 depicts the typical tie used with bread bags where the material to becinched is pulled though the central opening and held tight by the two“teeth” found along the top side of such opening. Different in style butnot purpose, FIG. 2 illustrates a tie where spring action holds thematerial cinched. FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 disclose typical strap like tieswhere one end of a strap is inserted through an opening, cinched, andthen held in place through some form of an engaging means. FIG. 6illustrates the use of Velcro® on a strap to maintain closure. There aredisadvantages to each of the ties referred to above. Unlike the tie ofthe present invention, the tie of FIG. 1 is limited in its applicationto only those instances where material is of appropriate size to bepulled through the central opening. The tie disclosed in FIG. 2 differsfrom the present invention as it is limited in application to instanceswhere material can be pulled through and employs a spring mechanismwhich over time can become weak and non-resilient. The ties in FIGS. 3,4, and 5 require more complexity in manufacture than the presentinvention in that in each, a strap bearing a strategically placedopening and non-uniform width must be manufactured. FIG. 6 representsthe most complex and expensive of the exemplary ties disclosed herein inthat each strap must be covered with a hook and loop type material suchas Velcro®.

The simplicity of the present invention is shown in FIG. 7. The tie 10of the present invention consists of a planar, flat strap 12 having alength (l) and generally uniform width (w) made from any pliablesemi-rigid material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The strap 12also includes a first edge and a second edge. The thickness of the strapwill vary depending on the material used for manufacture, though athickness of less than some fraction of the width of the strap 12. Alongmost or the entire length of the two opposing edges of the strap areteeth 14 in a repeating and uniform pattern having a width (w′) and alength (l′). The teeth 14 are generally formed during creating of thestrap and therefore, are continuous with the strap. In one embodiment,the teeth 14 are separated by troughs 16 being inverse in shape to theteeth 14. An alternate embodiment lacks teeth 14 at the ends of thestrap 12 in order to allow a more ergonomic and comfortable handle. FIG.8 shows an alternate embodiment wherein said teeth 14 are formed byangled slits in the planar strap 12.

The shape of the teeth 14 allows multiple ties to be manufacturedside-by-side from a single sheet of material without waste of materialbetween ties, as illustrated in FIG. 9. Also, because the invention canbe cut from a variety of smooth materials, as opposed to ridged ortextured materials as required for the other tie-types shown in FIGS.3-6, printing of an identifier 18, such as a part number or code, uponeach individual tie can be easily accomplished. Additionally, becausethe ties can be manufactured without regard to a specific length (l),the end user can determine the desired length for each individual tie10. FIG. 9 also shows an enlargement of a single tooth and an angle oftaper from the top of the tooth to the strap 12 of 75 degrees whichresults in the most secure locking of teeth 14 when the tie 10 isengaged. The degree of taper can range from 70 degrees to 85 degrees.The teeth 14 can be of various shapes and sizes and still accomplish thedesired cinching and locking of teeth 14. It has been determined thatthe tightest and most secure lock can be achieved if the width (w′) of atooth, at its widest point, is one fourth the width (w) of the strap, Ithas further been found that a tooth length (l′) of one half the width(w) of the strap body achieves the most secure cinch. These attributescreate a tie 10 that is easily scalable and therefore can be utilized ina wide variety of applications. A variety of manufacturing processes canbe employed to produce the tie 10. One such process utilizes die cuttingtechniques to cut sheets of material into the ties 10. The ties can alsobe formed using molding or similar processes to form the strap 12 havingteeth 14 as described above.

FIG. 10 illustrates how the tie 10 functions to cinch and hold items.The tie 10 functions by interlocking of the teeth 14 when the strap 12is tied in an overhand knot around an object or objects to be secured.The angle of taper of the teeth serves to prevent the teeth 14 fromslipping past each other, thus creating a secure cinch. The tie 10 ofthe present invention can be cinched and un-cinched repeatedly withoutany loss in effectiveness. Release of the tie 10 is accomplished bypushing the ends towards each other in order to unlock the teeth 14 andallow for untying of the overhand knot.

While the preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it willbe understood that there is no intent to limit the invention by suchdisclosure, but rather, is intended to cover all modifications andalternate constructions falling within the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

1. A method of cinching and bundling comprising the steps of: wrapping atie around at least one object; tying said tie into an overhand knot,said tie comprising a planar strap having a first edge, a second edgeand a plurality of teeth formed along both of said first and secondedges such that said plurality of teeth interlock when said strap istied.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said teeth are tapered towardssaid strap at an angle between 70 degrees and 85 degrees.
 3. The methodof claim 1 wherein said teeth are tapered towards said strap at an angleof 75 degrees.